The End
by Rage08
Summary: Everything starts going down hill when Orochimaru has an even better plan to take over Konoha...
1. The End

"NO! NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, but it was to late. As Orochimaru grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him in the air, getting ready to end him, he whispered into Naruto's ear, "You could have joined me, you could have saved everyone, but you just can't do that Naruto, can you? So now, you will pay. And I will be happy to show Sasuke your body." He chuckled at his own joke. "The best part is, you will die in front of your girlfriend here…" he lifted his sword and stabbed Naruto through the heart. Blood was rapidly leaving Naruto's body, slowly dripping down the sword and onto Orochimaru's hand. "NARUTO! NO!" screamed Sakura again. Using all of her strength, she lifted herself from the ground and ran towards Naruto. Orochimaru laughed, pulled the sword out of Naruto, and stabbed Sakura through her stomach. She gasped for air, trying not to lose hold of reality, she gasped, "Naruto..." she heard the cold, evil laugh of Orochimaru, looked at the one man who has ever sacrificed his life for her, and she fell with Naruto.

Maybe, I should take you to the beginning, where everything started, and no one has fallen.


	2. The Beggining

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Sakura!" yelled Tsunade. Her patients was worn thin once again. She never thought that being the Hokage of Konoha would be such hard work. Sure, at first, it was a great idea, but then there was all of the work and complaints and everything. AGH! She always gets a head ache just thinking about it. Then Sakura burst through the door. "Yes!" said Sakura, out of breath. "We have just gotten important information on Orochimaru." Sakura struggled to keep herself from crying after hearing that name. 7 years ago, he had tricked one of the boys that she loved into joining him and leaving everything he had behind. His name was Sasuke. He was still alive, just running for his life and trying his best to stay low. She sometimes gets letters from him so Tsunade knows he is alive.

"He is planning another invasion on Konaha and the Sand Village at the same time, so neither of us can back each other up." The next sentence woke Sakura from her dreadful memories. "We have no idea when this invasion will take place, or how. So we need you and Naruto to try and get Sasuke and to kill Orochimaru before he strikes. We would send some people from the Anbu, but we need top security here in Konaha. We believe we know where he is, but you will have to try and actually find where he is hiding." 

_Oh crap._ Thought Sakura _I hope Naruto won't go over his head trying to kill Orochimaru and seeing Sasuke._ "Uh, Tsunade?" "Yes, Sakura." "Maybe Naruto shouldn't do this mission, his emotions might jeopardize everything and because Konoha and the Sand Village are what we" "Sakura! I have taken everything into consideration, but I believe that Naruto and Sasuke are the only ones that can do this. And besides, they are going to need you, you seem to be the only thing that keeps those two from killing each other. Also, they are going to be reckless and are going to need a Med. Ninja. You are just as good as me…maybe even better. So it is _**extremely**_ important that-" BANG! There was a loud crash as Naruto flew through the door, Sakura wished she could have taken back her words. She was silently praying in her head that he didn't hear what she said about him. 

"Damn it, Naruto! This is about the 3rd door you have broken this month! How many people did you hurt getting through this time?" Naruto's face flushed as he looked at the ceiling and mumbled, "4 nurses and 2 patients…." Both of their faces turned tomato red. "PATIENTS! YOU HURT PATIENTS!" Sakura and Tsunade screamed. Naruto was bracing himself as both women were charging at him. "NARUTO! THEY ARE RECOVERING! NOW THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STAY HERE EVEN LONGER!" screamed Sakura. Then Tsunade grabbed Sakura's arm lightly and they both started turning their true colors again. 

"Either you just found an even better tasting ramen, or you were spying on us again" said Tsunade calmly. Both Naruto and Sakura were shocked, Tsunade was actually calm! "I know I have to go on the mission, but I think that Sakura is right. I shouldn't go." Sakura almost fainted, first Tsunade calm, now, Naruto turning down a major mission that includes Sasuke. What the hell is going on today? Tsunade chuckled, "Naruto, I know you think you know what is best for this mission, but the truth is, you have to. If you don't….let's just say you will wish you were never born." With this Tsunade gave Naruto the evil grin, and walked by him. While he was literally, shaking in his shoes. 

Sakura giggled, "I swear, you and Lady Tsunade are the best of friends, but the worst of enemies. Except for, she can overpower you any day." She giggled again and swiftly walked to follow her teacher. Naruto stood there, every time she said that and gave him that look, he knew she was serious. He felt like puking, but he managed to get himself together and decided to find someone to train with him. 


	3. The Departure

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Crap, crap, crap!_ Thought Sakura. _I wish I could just go by myself or not go at all. _The day for her to depart from Konoha and find Sasuke was getting nearer, making her more nervous, cranky, and worst of all, sappy. Every time she sees a couple, she thinks how wonderful their life will turn out and she is addicted to romance novels. Not just the maiden fall for the prince then they get married, but the real drama. Usually, those ideas sicken her, but now, she can't seem to escape them. Let's just say, that if she had to choose between getting captured by Orochimaru and this torture, she would choose Orochimaru. Sadly enough, she would be facing worse.

Naruto was….well…. lets just say, it was hard for him to keep things down. Every time he sees Orochimaru, his anger allows the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra to seep through and take control of him. Not immediately of coarse, only until he gets the fifth tail, but he still does not want to be risking the safety of his friends to destroy Orochimaru. Then again, if he and Sasuke didn't destroy Orochimaru, Orochimaru's army would destroy two villages. Also, what if they didn't find Sasuke, then he and Sakura would have to destroy Orochimaru. But then, Sakura might get hurt and… and… and… DAMN IT! Naruto spilt his ramen on himself _again._ He was having a really hard time with this mission.

Tap, tap, tap, tap. Tsunade was freaking out. She knew she could trust Naruto and Sakura, but this was a huge mission and Sasuke was involved. He could be the key to either destroying the mission, or successfully completing the mission. She was still questioning whether or not Orochimaru has already accessed the Sharingon by tranfering his soul into Sasuke's body. Sometimes, she wished she could have prevented Orochimaru from turning evil. If only, she and Jiriyah could have stopped him, none of these wars would be happening. But she couldn't regret that now, she had to focus on a plan to destroy Orochimaru, before he destroys two very powerful villages…


	4. The Kiss

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While Naruto and Sakura were getting packed, Tsunade stopped by Sakura's house. "Sakura, I have to tell you something important. Sasuke would always send two letters, one for me and one for you. How we received the information about the invasions was from Sasuke. I don't know how he could know that, considering he left Orochimaru, but stay on you toes and keep a sharp eye on him. I am almost certain Naruto will think of him as a brother again, so you have to make sure that your relationship with Sasuke right now is a criminal. You have to promise me on this one Sakura." It took Sakura a few moments to respond. She thought of Sasuke more than a brother, but now she has to act like she doesn't know him and that he is a criminal! "Sakura." Tsunade's sharp voice made her make her decision. "No." Tsunade whirled around. "Sakura, you have to. If you don't you and Naruto could end up dead. For all I know, this is a trap. If you don't promise me, I am willing to replace you with Kakashi." This set Sakura completely off. "Damn it Tsunade. If you replace me with Kakashi, I will stand by and let people invade these damned villages! I am going to see Sasuke and I will think and treat him however I like! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" She didn't realize that as she continued speaking, her words grew in volume. Tsunade stood there, shocked. This was the first time Sakura had ever snapped at her. 

All of a sudden in that house, it was like an emotional bomb blew off. Sakura sank down in a chair and started crying while Tsunade was trying not to cry. The past few weeks had been very hard for both of them, they were dependent on each other. But Sakura has to leave and they may never see each other again. Tsunade went over and put her arm around Sakura. "I a-am afraid of d-death. I a-am afraid I won't see anyone again. Tsunade, I-I want to l-live and see e-ev-everyone again." Sakura was struggling to talk between sobs. "I know how you feel, Sakura. I lost my little brother and my true love when I was younger and it was the hardest thing ever. I felt like committing suicide a few times, but I didn't. Look now, I am Hokage of a great village and I met you and Naruto. You need to understand, that people must die, and if your time comes, you won't be forgotten." Sakura looked at Tsunade now as if she were her hero. The two of them hugged and Sakura left to meet up with Naruto.

Naruto and Sakura were off to The Village Hidden in the Clouds. Sakura had gotten a letter from Sasuke giving his exact location after he sent the letter about the invasion. She was extremely nervous and didn't know what to expect. But she kept her face straight and tried her best not to break down again. Sakura knew that she was probably going to have to be the strong one in this pair right now. She looked at Naruto in a different way that moment. She saw him as something precious, not just a person helping her to complete a mission. She was going to have to block out Sasuke though, to follow Tsunade's orders. Even though Sakura might have said she wouldn't, she felt like she had to. Tsunade taught her everything she knows, she can't just go back and blow that up in Tsunade's face…

"Sakura." Naruto's voice almost made her jump. "Yes, Naruto." "I know you like Sasuke and stuff… and I know that this mission might be the end of us… so I want to… you know… tell you the truth about some things." Sakura looked at him, seeing sadness and fear in his eyes. She wanted to go and hug him, but she couldn't bring herself to it. "Sakura…" _Oh no!_ Sakura thought. _He is going to say he loves me! But, I don't love him back…I don't think. I mean, he is obnoxious and he has that beast sealed inside of him. He could KILL me. But, he is sweet, funny, and he would never abandon me. Damn…this is really going to suck._ "Sakura…" He continued. "I love you…" Even though Sakura knew he was going to say that, her breath got caught in her throat and the butterflies in her stomach seemed to explode and multiply. She turned towards him, and they kissed. Not just the peck, but the really passionate lovey-dovey kiss. They broke apart, finally realizing that they needed to breath. Naruto looked and felt like he could fly to the moon. Sakura although, felt awful. Even though she disguised her face with the look of love. She did love Naruto, but more of a brother than a husband. This, was the worst pain she had ever felt…


	5. Sasuke

Chapter 4

1 week later

"YES! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" screamed Naruto. Sakura was getting a headache for the past 3 days, because all she heard was "Sasuke this" and "Sasuke that." She was getting ready to smack Naruto. It was hard enough to forget Sasuke on the journey, but now they were about to see him. She felt like she was going to throw up. They were almost a mile away from the hotel he was staying at. Naruto was excited and couldn't sleep, while Sakura was scared and couldn't sleep. _What if he says no?_ She though _what if he decides he doesn't like me and Naruto and he doesn't want to do this mission... If that bastard thinks he can do that and get away with it, he has another thing coming. I will kick his ass to Pluto and back to get him to come along! Yeah! That's what I won't do because I could never have the guts to do it._ Her pep talk didn't work out so well. In fact, it sped up time so they were almost to the hotel. She abruptly turned to Naruto and said, "Maybe we shouldn't do this. What if he isn't here and-" he cut her off short by holding his hand over her mouth. "He will be there. He wouldn't have gone through all of that trouble to make us come here and then ditch us."

Then, it stood there before them, the hotel. Sakura sucked in a breath of air and bravely walked through the door. But, right when she walked in, Sasuke walked out. They bumped into each other and Sakura almost knocked Sasuke over. She looked at him with complete amazement. His hair grew out, his eyes were a darker color, and (from her perspective) he was way sexier. The best part was, he was wearing tighter clothes! She almost fainted like Hinata when she runs into Naruto. But, the best part was, he blushed when he saw her too. He reached out his arms and hugged her in a tight embrace. She didn't dare turn to look at Naruto, afraid to see the look on his face when he saw what was happening. But overall today was going to be a GREAT day….


	6. A Horrible Mistake

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sakura and Naruto explained everything to Sasuke (even though he already knew everything because he is the one that gave them the information). Then, he told them to go inside of his hotel room so they could go over the plan to kill Orochimaru. Sakura was a bit suspicious about how much Sasuke knew. He knew the exact place and exact time that Orochimaru was going to be. Sasuke seemed to be reading her mind. "Before I left, I went searching through some of his files. He has been planning this invasion even before the last one. I think that he knew he would fail, and had this back up plan. Now, he knows all of the weaknesses of Konoha and he can easily destroy it." _Hmm…_ she thought _Now that he puts it _that _way, I guess he is right. But this might still be a trap, so I am going to have to stay on my toes._ So, they had to travel to The Village Hidden in the Sound. 

This was the main place Orochimaru stayed, which scared Sakura. Every time Naruto saw him, he lost control of the Nine Tailed Fox and almost killed his allies. She had a feeling that this time wouldn't be any different. Now that Sasuke was here too, he could be setting them up for a trap. This mission was hard enough thinking about how to treat Sasuke like a criminal, but now that she has seen him…it feels like it is impossible. 

Sasuke suddenly slammed into Sakura as Naruto jumped. BANG! There was a huge explosion. All of the debris was falling on Sasuke as he shielded Sakura with his body. He didn't look hurt, just scared. Then it hit her, Sasuke was afraid that she would get hurt… so maybe…Sasuke loved her just like how she loved him. It was strange, though, she would have expected Naruto to save her instead of himself. _Crap_ she thought _I don't know if he really does love me like I think he does, and if I reveal to him how I feel about him…it may ruin our friendship and hurt Naruto. Now I have to choose between Dangerous and stupid _(Naruto) _or dangerous and sexy_ (Sasuke). She thought she had made up her mind, but it may be changed soon.

That night when they camped out, Naruto went out like a light, giving Sakura and Sasuke some time to talk. "Sakura, I know this may sound stupid, but I really love you. But, it looks like you and Naruto are together." Sakura's heart seemed to jump into her throat. HE LOVED HER! Then she remembered his last sentence. "What do you mean, that Naruto and I are together?" Sasuke looked at her, his eyes unreadable. "Sakura, Orochimaru taught me how to read faces and minds pretty well. Obviously, something happened between you two." Sakura's face turned red as she remembered the kiss and how Naruto took it. "I only kissed him because it was the right thing to do at the time. He told me how he felt about me and we may never see each other again. It truly didn't mean anything to me." Sakura wish she had taken back her words as POOF! Naruto had transformed into Sasuke and Sasuke had transformed into Naruto. Tears were threatening to leaver her eyes. "Thanks Sakura, for being a crappy friend." With that, he turned and leaped into the trees. 

Sakura desperately turned to run after him. They were in enemy territory; this was the worst time to go running off. She stopped to listen, but there was no noise. Naruto was lost somewhere in enemy territory, and it was her fault…


	7. Betrayal

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sakura went back to the camp site, tears flowing down her face and washing away the dirt on her face. Sasuke was already up and waiting for her when she got back. She walked up so Sasuke and started screaming at him. "DO YOU ENJOY WATCHING ME CRY SASUKE!? DO YOU ENJOY WATCHING ME REGRET!?" She was about to slap him when he grabbed her arms. He looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "You shouldn't have even kissed him in the first place. You may be blaming me right now, but Naruto needed to know the truth that you were hiding from him. I did nothing except for help him." Sakura stared at the man she once loved. "When did you guys switch places?" "We switched right after we ate. Naruto knew his appetite would make you catch on." Sakura thought for a moment. "So he is the one that saved me as well?" "Yes." She hated how Sasuke answered with no feeling, and she was almost shaking in rage at him. "You bastard, you are letting your bes-" "Actually, I broke the bonds of our friendship a while ago. I was just proving him wrong when he said he loved you."

All that afternoon Sakura was doing her best to avoid Sasuke. The problem with that plan was, they were stuck on a mission together, so the only thing she could do was to just ignore him. She followed him, but kept an eye on the map. They had traveled for hours with no break, her feet were hurting, she was hungry, exhausted, and much more. But she couldn't stop, she couldn't show Sasuke that she was weak. Although, through their whole journey, she kept thinking about Naruto and how it would be her fault if he died.

Sasuke stopped suddenly and looked at her. The only noise she heard from him that day was, "We'll make camp here for tonight." He dropped to the ground with a silent _thump_ and started making some shelter. She glared at him suspiciously, then jumped down to help him. It seemed almost too quite without Naruto there. At least she could watch Sasuke more carefully without any distractions, and yet, she missed all of his distractions. It was a lot more entertaining than Sasuke's quite working. The silence was disturbing, and she knew something bad was going to happen if she didn't keep her guard up.

That night, Sakura stood on her guard, trying her best not to fall asleep and keeping an eye on Sasuke. The silence was going to kill her. She wanted to run and find Naruto, kick Sasuke's ass, kill Orochimaru, and get this damned mission complete. She was so tired of all this pressure and hate. Sakura truthfully thought Sasuke had changed because in his letter- HIS LETTERS! He is completely different from hit letter. She was getting up to confront Sasuke when she felt a pain in her neck and everything went black. One word went through her mind before she lost her grip on reality: betrayal…


	8. Lost Hope

Chapter 7

It seemed to be hours before the hood on her head was taken off. When she looked around, she saw three people right off the bat. Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto. The three worst people she had ever met. The good news out of all this was that the ropes holding her were weak, and she was a hell of a lot stronger than them. But she would wait for the perfect time to launch her attack and escape, hopefully not too late though.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Sakura, you are so naïve like Tsunade in so many ways." He chuckled again. "If you had paid any attention, you would have realized the trap Sasuke was putting up for you. Naruto abandoning you, the silence for the signal, how he made camp, and how he ran you tirelessly so you would be an easy target. All those signs and you still didn't realize the larger picture. You truly disappointed me, by the time you reacted you were way too late." He looked at her, humor dancing across his face. Sakura's rage got the best of her. She broke the ropes as if they weren't even there, and swung her most powerful punch. She moved too fast for Kabuto and Sasuke, then completely nailed Orochimaru squarely in the mouth. He went flying across the room and Kabuto attacked Sakura at her legs. She fell with great pain as they tied her up again.

When Orochimaru got up and walked over to her, he laughed even harder. "You truly are the student of Tsunade. It is also truly disappointing that you could have used the weak rope for a better plan. Your temper is your worst weakness, actually, your emotions. Even though ninja aren't supposed to show their emotion, you, Tsunade, and Naruto all share the same weakness." The more Orochimaru talked, the more Sakura lost hope that Naruto would come.

That's when it hit her, "Where is Naruto?" she asked. Orochimaru looked at her and smiled. "Coming to be the hero to you. I have sent a messenger a few minutes ago. So he will either die in a few minutes, or he will barely escape and get here in a few minutes." As Orochimaru was leaving with Sasuke and Kabuto, he turned around and said, "For your sake, he had better come." The door closed and he left. She sat there, waiting for her hero to come, because that was all she could do…


	9. Sakura's Challenge

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sakura was sitting there, freaking out. Praying that Naruto hated her enough to stay away. Then, the light faded and she sat there in complete darkness. She started to cry to herself, she knew Naruto would come after her. He would never leave one of his friends behind, no matter how angry he is at them. It was so aggravating! But, then again, he hadn't saved her yet…so he might not come at all! Then she would have to face the torture of Orochimaru…alone…screaming and…no Naruto. Maybe Naruto should come, then she wouldn't… She had to stay strong and take whatever Orochimaru did to her. _Crap _she thought _I get to get the crap beaten out of me every freaking day until I either escape or die. Wonderful..._

Adrenaline was flowing through Sakura's veins even though she wasn't doing anything. She felt extremely irritated and warm. This was a great time to figure out some sort of plan to get out of this god forsaken place and find Naruto. But, she still had to figure out if Orochimaru was going to take over the village. That was the main objective of the mission. It seemed like time went by extremely slow. She didn't even know if she was dead or alive, asleep or awake, safe or in danger, etc.. The darkness seemed to hypnotize her. Sakura started going mad, she needed some form of light, so she could see around, find some opening.

She heard a scream and she started breathing harder. Was someone else in hear with her? Could she be saved? She quickly realized it was her scream… Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days. She wanted to feel around, do something besides sitting there. But she couldn't, she screamed again. "OROCHIMARU!" Sakura screamed, "GET ME OUT OF HERE GOD DAMN IT! I WILL RIP YOU AND KABUTO TO SHREDS I WILL KILL YOU ALL ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE! YOU WANT A CHALLENGE!? FIGHT ME! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sakura started to break down in tears; no one was going to hear her. No one was coming to save her.

Then, the doors burst open and light flooded the room, she could see the silhouette of two people, one was bound and gagged, while the other one was struggling to keep him heading towards the room. Part of her wanted that person to be Naruto, the other part was praying that it was Naruto. The man removed the cloth covering the other man's mouth, then through him into the room. Before he even reached the ground, the door closed and the beautiful light was taken away from her. "Naruto?" she called. The body moved a little.

"Sakura? Is that you?" It was Naruto! Relief flooded Sakura as she struggled to meet him. Having your hands tied behind you and your feet tied together made this process hard, and she was glad it was dark, so Naruto wouldn't have to see her move so stupidly. "Yes Naruto, it is me." "Sakura, we have to get out of here. Orochimaru and Kabuto are planning to make the soul transfer in a few minutes, then leave immediately so they can bomb this place." Sakura felt as if she couldn't breath. They were going to get killed in a few minutes. Naruto seemed to feel her distress.

"We will get out of here, even if it costs me my life. We won't die here." Sakura didn't feel any better, she knew Naruto was trying to help, but right now…it was just pointless. "Naruto, we aren't getting out of here, it will cost both of our lives. We going to die in here." She completely lost hope a while ago, and even with Naruto here, there was no hope. "Sakura, you can't give up hope like that. I won't let you do this to yourself." "Naruto! Have you even looked at the situation we are in? How can you have hope? This is one of the places Orochimaru lives. We are completely lost and Sasuke has betrayed us. We are in a freaking dark room with no God damned way out, there is no hope. _We_ _will die in here!_" She could feel Naruto's sympathy for her. "Sakura, I know they-" Sakura immediately interrupted him. "No Naruto! You don't know anything. They know that I will drive myself insane! _They_ know _everything!_ There is no hope, nothing you can say will change my mind on that."

Neither of them talked for a while after that. Sakura had broken down into tears and had been crying for a while. Naruto was falling apart, she was right, he couldn't do anything. He was powerless, if he had some light and the ropes weren't…THAT'S IT! Naruto just figured out a way to get them out of there. All he needed to do was get Sakura to trust in him. This was going to be a major problem. She was still bawling her eyes out and he couldn't even hear himself think straight because of how loud she was.

"Sakura, I have a plan to get out of here." She stopped crying for a minute and thought for a moment. "OK Naruto, I'll listen, but if it isn't good, then I won't do it." Naruto hurriedly told her his plan. "That's brilliant Naruto!"


End file.
